The NFL Divisonal

The NFL Divisional was pure dominance from the Chiefs, Bengals, 49ers, and Eagles. The day started out with the Chiefs and Jaguars. The Divisional game was a familiar sight for the Chiefs, the first seed, playing against the fourth seed, the Jaguars—who haven’t been to the Divisional game since 2018 with Blake Bortles. The inexperienced Jaguars gave the Chiefs a run for their money, but fell short, with a game sealing interception ending the game 27-20

The second game, on Saturday, was Eagles vs. Giants, which went as well as everybody thought it would. The Eagles had a dominating performance, running all over the Giants with an incredible seven touchdowns, while the Giants scored only one. The 38-7 blowout showed just how good this Eagles team really is.

Then came the game that everybody was waiting for—the Bengals at the Bills. Just 20 days before, the world had watched with heavy hearts as Bills safety Damar Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest on the field. Now, the Bengals controlled the game the whole time with a great rushing attack and a compelling drive from Joe Burrow, with two touchdowns and almost 250 yards. The most impressive part of this win for the Bengals was their o-line. The Bengals were down 3 starting offensive linemen, and the line only allowed one sack the whole game, tying up their best performance of the year. The final score in the snowy tundra was 27-10. This was another disappointment for Bills Mafia, as their Superbowl dreams had been crushed again.

Photo courtesy: Google

The final game was the Cowboys at the 49ers. These two teams have met 9 times in the playoffs, including this match up; this rivalry is as old as it gets. The 49ers came into this game with their 7-0 rookie quarterback Brock Purdy, who just got his first Playoff win against the Seattle Seahawks. After a 30-year streak of bad luck in the Divisions, the Cowboys had just pulled off a hot win against Tom Brady and the Bucs the week before, beating them 31-14. The game was a defensive battle, with both high-powered offenses struggling to get it done. Then late in the 4th quarter, with the game tied 9-9, Brock led a 73-yard touchdown drive, including a great catch from George Kittle to make it 16-9 late. The script was laid out for Dak Prescott to bring the Cowboys back to the NFC Championship, but they fell short with a loss of 19-12.

The AFC Championship features two high-powered offenses, with the Bengals led by Joe Burrow and the Chiefs led by Patrick Mahomes; however, the most important part of this game is going to be the defenses. The offenses are going to drive, so the defense needs to step up in the red zone and try to hold the offense to three. Joe Burrow has had the Chiefs number the last three times they’ve played, including in the AFC Championship last year. This year won’t be any different, and my prediction is that the Bengals will win 31-27.

From Mr. Irrelevant(Nickname for last guy picked in the draft) to the NFC Championship game, Brock Purdy continues to defy the odds as one of the few rookie QBs to ever make it to the NFC Championship game. This is also Jalen Hurts’ first NFC championship game as a 3rd-year man. The 49ers have just come off a defensive win, scoring the lowest amount of points this year under Brock Purdy last week. That cannot happen against this Eagles offense, which is way better than the Cowboys. Brock Purdy has to step up against a tough Eagles defense. I believe he will step up and lead the 49ers to a 38-35 win.